Skadi is one of the more unique gods with her permanent pet, Kaldr. Skadi was nerfed in Patch 4.6 and was deemed unplayable by much of the community. Over time, people realized the nerf wasn’t that bad and Skadi has rebounded hard and is currently viewed as one of the best gods in Smite. This article will help anyone looking to play the Goddess of Winter craft powerful item builds.

Skadi’s builds revolve around maximizing the damage of Kaldr. She does not follow traditional Hunter builds. Critical strike chance is very popular on most Hunters right now, but Skadi does not build those items. Instead, she prefers heavy power and penetration-focused builds.

Why does Skadi want this type of build? Kaldr. Her dog is very strong and the key to her kit. Kaldr scales off of Skadi’s basic attack damage (BAD). His normal auto attacks will scale at 40-80% of Skadi’s BAD, based on the points invested into Rune of the Hunt. Kaldr’s basic attacks also deal double damage to targets slowed by Skadi’s Piercing Cold, meaning Kaldr can hit an enemy for up to 160% of Skadi’s BAD. Kaldr also has a dash attack that deals up to 150% of Skadi’s BAD. These incredible values mean that Kaldr scales very well with power and penetration, allowing the dog to hit enemies like a truck on top of the damage Skadi is able to deal herself.

Kaldr attacks at half of Skadi’s attack speed, meaning he scales less aggressively with bonus attack speed and his dash attack won’t hit as hard. Critical strike chance does not factor into BAD, so does not help Kaldr at all. These stats are not valuable because they do not amplify Kaldr’s damage. Kaldr has a limited life pool, only able to be hit five times before being forced to retreat. Because of this, the best Skadi builds revolve around having Kaldr hit the hardest he can in a small number of attacks. The dog also does not inherit on-hit effects or life steal, making those items less powerful on Skadi.

As of this writing, the most recent showing of competitive Smite was at relegations. Skadi was picked in the majority of matches and her builds were similar throughout the event. Every time Skadi appeared, she was started the same with Bluestone Pendent and Bumba’s Mask. The build then progressed into Warrior Tabi and Transcendence. After this point, the item pickups varied.

Skadi revolves around abilities more than her basic attacks, so Bluestone is the primary starter item for her. Bumba’s Mask is a standard pick up on Hunters as a secondary starter item to help with jungle clear and sustain. Warrior Tabi is the pair of boots chosen because they have the highest power and give Skadi the most damage. Transcendence is picked for a similar reason. Trans is a stacking item that provides a lot of power while at the same time granting a lot of mana to help Skadi throw out more abilities without needing to back early or play reserved in extended engagements.

Skadi started the same in every game she was played.

The third item is where the builds started to vary in relegations. In over half the games, Brawler’s Beat Stick was chosen. This item provides 40 power and 15 penetration for a very cheap price. The item also bring utility in the form of anti-heal. Brawlers will get nerfed in Patch 4.17 with a cost increase, but still could be built in this slot because the stats are exactly what Skadi wants to build. Post-nerf Brawler’s will still be 100 gold cheaper than Jotunn’s Wrath, but only 50 gold more expensive than The Crusher, both of which also provide power, flat penetration, and additional effects. Jotunn’s Wrath appeared in a couple Skadi builds during relegations and was built in the third slot once. This slot may be varied post 4.17 or could remain focused on the Brawler’s.

Brawler's Beat Stick is the premier third item on Skadi. Other Penetration items are also great on her

The item options for Skadi expand even more further down the build path, but a couple themes ran throughout the builds. Titan’s Bane was almost always included, generally after selling a starter item, sometimes earlier. Titan’s Bane provides percent penetration that is good against tanks and structures. A third penetration item was often picked up in the middle of the build, whether The Executioner, The Crusher, or Jotunn’s Wrath. The Skadi lost in every game they built The Executioner or Crusher. This could be a coincidence, but could also show that attack speed is not a very valuable stat on Skadi.

A defensive item was often picked up on Skadi. This is because Skadi is not particularly safe and a little bit of survivability helps because dead DPS is no DPS. Especially with a hybrid defensive item, Skadi does enough damage with her abilities and Kaldr to afford building a bit defensively. The exact item and location in the build vary from game to game. Magi’s Blessing, Shifter’s Shield, and Winged Blade were all options. Magi’s Blessing will occasionally block a crowd control effect, Shifter’s Shield provides protections and power and amplified one or the other based on the user’s health. Winged Blade provides health and movement speed. Interestingly, Shifter’s was only built in the European relegations, while Winged Blade was the North American choice. The defensive items were built between third and last, with the most successful variants being purchased fourth, after Brawler’s, but before selling starting items.

Defensive items were often picked up on Skadi.

Another item that was picked up in over half of the European games was Odysseus’ Bow. This item provides a lot of attack speed, which we have seen to not be a priority to Skadi, but every fourth auto attack that connects will sent out a chain lighting effect dealing 50% of basic attack damage. With the power and penetration build Skadi uses, this effect bounces large amounts of damage into the enemy team in a fight or skirmish. The Skadi won every game where Obow was built with Shifters, and lost the one time it was picked up without the Shield, which also explains why the North Americans didn’t purchase the item with their Winged Blade preference.

Skadi has recently been rediscovered after a nerf and is popular again. She is a hard-hitting Hunter with a unique playstyle and build. Skadi does not follow the traditional attack speed and crit itemization for most Hunters and instead prefers to build power and penetration to maximize the damage of Kaldr. We are sure to see her be played and Kaldr maul faces in the SPL.

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